Bernie

The theater was rented, but there wasn’t enough space
So they got the biggest stadium in the state
It filled up with people who hoped the presidential race
This time might improve the country’s fate
The senator appeared and gave a rousing speech
Once again he brought the house down
Rekindling the dream of socialism within reach
The day that Bernie Sanders came to town

Lots of folks signed up to go door to door
To elect such a progressive president
A society of equals is what they’re also standing for
So why not get inside his tent
Don’t mention Yugoslavia – the dams and TV stations
Or the bombs in Gaza falling to the ground
That came from the USA and this man’s arms appropriations
The day that Bernie Sanders came to town

All across the city folks are hoping that today
America can finally turn the page
Listen to his speeches and all the things they say
Next year we shall begin the progressive age
But if one Yea or Nay in Congress is worth a thousand other words
I feel like I’m being taken for a clown
When I look at the flattened schools and hospitals, it all just seems so absurd
The day that Bernie Sanders came to town

Look at all the people standing in their places
Hoping that this system can be changed
Now picture the betrayal plainly written on their faces
When the deck chairs once again are rearranged
When the great man tells his flock, now vote for the 1%
Though it’s OK if you do it with a frown
They’ll do the deed and wonder what any of that had meant
The day that Bernie Sanders came to town

Bernie Sanders has a great voting record when it comes to US labor issues. His voting record in terms of foreign policy is more mixed. Given the realistic options, or at least the potentially realistic ones, I’d love to see him in the White House, nonetheless. But the fact that his campaign may just end up “energizing the base” in order for him to then tell us all to vote for Hillary Clinton is what bothers me the most. We need to give up on both corporate, imperial parties if there’s any hope for this country. And if there’s any hope for much of the rest of the world to ever know peace — since US foreign policy is the world’s biggest reason why there’s so often an absence of peace.